Wet weather hampering work on major artery into Gaston County

Sunday

Feb 3, 2019 at 10:56 AMFeb 3, 2019 at 10:56 AM

A wetter than average winter continues to plague a major road project linking southeastern Gaston County to South Carolina.

Twice late last year, the contractor overseeing the widening of Pole Branch Road near Lake Wylie, South Carolina, was forced to delay a scheduled closure of the route. The weekend shutdown is needed for workers to carry out some major construction as part of an overall $30 million improvement project.

The latest closure was rescheduled for this month. But the unrelenting rain that continues to saturate this part of the Carolinas has forced officials to push the work back yet again.

“Due to the weather, the weekend closing of Pole Branch Road has been pushed to the spring, when the weather will be better suited to perform the work,” said Patrick Hamilton, the Pennies for Progress program manager in York County, South Carolina.

Last May, Blythe Development began work on the long-awaited effort to improve 3.8 miles of blacktop and bridges south of the North Carolina state line near Lake Wylie. On Pole Branch Road, the two current lanes are being widened to include a third center turn lane, from the bridge at the lake to the Y-intersection where Pole Branch intersects with S.C. 274 at All Saints Catholic Church.

From that point south to the Wal-Mart shopping center, the highway is further being widened to five lanes.

Pole Branch Road is a heavily used route for people traveling from South Carolina to Gastonia, Belmont and Cramerton. But it has been in deplorable shape and ridden with potholes for the better part of a decade.

The initial road closure will be necessary so that workers can cut through the road at multiple points to put in new drain pipes and culverts. Whenever it does take effect this spring, a 12-mile detour will be put in place, sending vehicles down Union-New Hope Road and Union Road to get to Lake Wylie on S.C. 274.

Two to three months after that, an even longer detour will have to be put in place to allow for more major work that will not mix with passing traffic.